Discover the Weekend League Club Boasting Over 1,800 English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two victory against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a stellar experienced team who have secured consecutive championships, including a double triumph with 30 wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a collection of former pro players who have performed at the elite tier of club football and international football as you aim for additional honors.

A Manchester team has an amateur vets squad with nine ex- top-flight players in their current roster.

222 Premier League Goals, 325 International Appearances

The team Vets Over 35s are situated in south the city and compete in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Division.

Their squad list this season includes 9 former top-flight players, with a combined nearly 1,800 top-flight matches.

The high-profile squad also includes 222 top division scores and over 320 global appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga side Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home-field match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

The squad for this season also features former pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have claimed 15 major trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Republic of Ireland caps, scoring 4 goals

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team during pre-season this season through close mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League matches for the Toffees and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

"Then he informed me we were facing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still love football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The people who come and watch are happy and to make a moment if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at the club, he made his debut at full-back.

"It's a little different but then, I enjoy running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"That running is what I'm looking for. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with the forward's 6 goals on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in three games for the side, while Boyd hit five on his first match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Division with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 Premier League matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow.

"I think I was a bit starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got 60-odd England caps.

"We competed well for a good 20 mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.

"We really have not ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of normal guys.

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets side, who won the Top Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

Shane Brown
Shane Brown

A lifestyle writer from Groningen with a passion for sharing practical advice and cultural insights.

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